The Creation
It is a common misunderstanding that the gods created the world, while in truth, the world created the gods. All spirits are a result of series of cataclysmic events that occured many years ago, and after the spirits were born, they began to create more spirits. The shift between feud and love between the spirits is what has shaped and forged The Mortal Realm into what it is today. The Beginning of Time In the beginning, there was nothing. Or at least close to nothing. The knowledge of these primordial times are scarce, even for divine beings, but there are theories about what was in these days. The most common one is that there were but a few spirits alive at this point, but they were asleep, dormant. It is commonly accepted that there were at least two spirits alive in these years: Death and Earth. Since there was no life in this void, most find it quite logical the death ruled instead. However, the spirit of earth would be the first to change that, when two massive lumps of rock collided with each other and created a spark. At that very moment, in that little second, three spirits were born: fire, energy and light. All three of the newly awoken spirits awoke confused and disoriented, but with immense powers as spirits now have. Fire was second to make a move towards the creation of life, as she created a home for herself in the great void that she was born. She shaped a ball of fire in the void and slowly expanded it, until it shaped what we today know as the sun. However, what Fire hadn't suspected, was that the light from her home would be the catalyst of life on one of the many lumps of earth that floated around in the great void. The Birth of Life With the radiance of Fire's sun, life slowly began to shape itself on one particular lump of earth that was of just the right size and at just the right distance. Other lumps of earth were left stale and cold, while others were turned to pure lava. The latter was a good example of what happened when two spirits clash and give birth to a new spirit. In this case: Lava. And the light upon Earth's lump was yet another example of what happens in such a scenario. However, where the birth of Lava was a result of feud between Earth and Fire, Life was a result of Earth and Fire's love, the difference being that neither are destroyed in the process. But Life was still very weak in this newborn condition, and didn't have much to live off. Life was nothing but mere bacteria at this point that managed to retrieve nutrients purely from the light that shone upon the lump of earth. However, that all changed when a new, so-far unknown spirit came into the picture. This particular spirit had been floating around in the great void for thousands of years, and had never encountered any other spirits. But as it did, it did so with a blast. It was Ice. A large (not as large as the lump of earth) ball of ice drifted around the great void until it suddenly collided with Earth's lump and shattered. The many bits of ice spread out across the lump of earth, causing large craters that would later become the seas of The Mortal Realm when the sun's light melted the ice and gave birth to Water. And in that very moment, Life found new opportunities, new nutrients and new ways to evolve itself. The Yantsu Interpretation In primordial days, long before life or even death existed, there was only the void. A long, endless world of bleakness, where darkness reigned and light was never born. And in this darkness, there was a kami by the name of Zen. He was lost in the darkness, for many years wandering aimlessly, until he heard the voice of another kami. She called herself Ya, and even though Zen could not see her, he knew that she was the most beautiful thing he had ever known, and instantly fell in love. "Oh sweet Ya," he said "be my eternal grace, for I am so alone." "Dear Zen," Ya responded "I will love you, if you can create something as beautiful as I. Make me a gift equal to my splendor, and I shall never leave you." Obsessed with giving Ya what she wished for, Zen immediately began to think about what could match Ya's beauty. It was an empty world and he had no tools to craft with, so he knew that he would have to use his own body to make his gift for Ya. With this in mind, he made his first creation: the world. He created it by tearing out his right lung and molding it into a ball, which he then presented to Ya. "It is beautiful," Ya said as she took the world in her arms "but not as beautiful as I." Rejected, Zen tried his best to make something even more beautiful. The crude shape of the earth must have displeased Ya, so he immediately began to make something of greater beauty. Determined to win Ya's love, he tore out his own heart and molded it into a ball, and thus created the moon. Convinced that this would please Ya, he presented it proudly to her. "It is beautiful," Ya said again, as she took the moon and tied it to her left shoulder "but not as beautiful as I." Distraught, Zen could not figure out what he had to do to make a gift as beautiful as Ya. However, after five years of thinking, he realized that beauty lies not in flesh and bone, but in the eye of the beholder. With this, he tore out his left eye, which then began to glow brightly in his hands. It became the sun, and the gift that he believed would finally convince Ya to love him. "Oh Zen," Ya said as she took the sun "it is so beautiful. For this, I will love you in all eternity." Zen was overjoyed to hear this, and prepared himself for Ya's eternal love, but as she tied the sun to her right shoulder, its light revealed her face. It was then that Zen realized he had been tricked; in all this time, Ya was not a kami at all, but an oni. She was a hideous troll with great big fangs and three eyes. "Confound you!" Zen shouted in anger, as he realized Ya's true form "You have tricked me, demon! For that, you shall pay!" in his rage, Zen tore off Ya's head. All the blood that spilled washed out over the sky and created all the stars that were, all the nebulas and celestial constellations that are today. Even though Ya was an oni, he still grieved for her death, and sat down by her headless body where he began to cry. All his tears became the oceans and rivers and lakes in the world that he carried in his lap, and every time it rains, it is because Zen is crying. It is said that the world will end once Zen has recovered from the emotional wounds that Ya gave him, and he finally stops crying. All the oceans will dry up and Zen will leave the world to die, so that he may find himself a new love in the void beyond.